The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently reported that a lot of crops such as maize and wheat can be harmful to our health. During the United Nations Assembly Meeting at Nairobi, it was revealed that the chemical compounds produced by these crops can be dangerous to the health of people and animals. Because of extreme weather, they are protecting themselves by generating more potential toxins.

Jaqueline McGlade, a chief scientist and director at UNEP, stated that just like humans, crops are just responding to the sudden changes in our climate. If the weather is in a normal condition, a plant converts the nitrates they absorb into nutritious proteins and amino acids but during the drought condition, it prevents the conversion of nitrates. If people will eat too much crops that has a damaged nitrate, it will interrupt the ability of red blood cells to transfer oxygen in the body.

McGlade then revealed the cases of hydrogen cyanide poisoning that was reported. 2 kids died at Coastal Kilifi in Kenya last 2013 when they ate a cassava that has a high content of prussic acid on it after an enormous rainfall and in the Philippines in 2005.

A prussic acid is used in some kinds of chemical warfare that prevents the oxygen flow to our body. A toxic called Aflatoxin can agitate plant crops and can damage our liver. It can also cause blindness and cancer as well as inhibiting the growth of fetuses. There were about 4.5 billion people in expanding countries that were unprotected to Aflatoxins every year according to McGlade and the numbers are still increasing.

The scientists then stated that they are approaching farmers in these countries to be aware of this toxin. According to a report by International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya experienced terrible outbreaks of aflatoxin poisoning where more than 300 people were killed. Scientists were suggesting farmers to avoid crop toxins with a list of ideas such as delineating the contamination hotspots and develop a variety of crops to survive the enormous weather to reduce the levels of toxic chemicals.